 He is shell-shocked into muteness and takes refuge with a travelling gypsy caravan, led by Darky (Hoskins).Among the principal members of the clan are Darky's mentally disabled son, Simon, Simon's mother Elle (Wanamaker) who harbours a grudge against Darky, and Darky's only daughter, Jessie (Nathenson), who forms a romantic bond with Tom, eventually becoming pregnant by him.In order to avoid arrest and execution by the army, Tom disguises himself as a "rawney", described in the film as a kind of "magic" madwoman, who (in the gypsy culture) is able to see the future and can control animals.